COLLEGE TO RECEIVE $600,000 GRANT TO IMPROVE THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE STUDENTS

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 3, 2009—U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah has informed Community College of Philadelphia that it will receive a $600,000 federal grant to provide support services to help African-American male undergraduates achieve academic success.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Predominantly Black Institutions and Schools program will help the College create a Center for Male Engagement (CME), which will provide a setting where young men are supported by peers and mentors, and encouraged to take advantage of many academic and social opportunities at the College.

"Community College of Philadelphia has been inspiring and preparing thousands of underserved young people since opening its doors 44 years ago," said Fattah, who is the author of numerous educational support programs for disadvantaged youth. "This grant will allow the College to determine the best strategies to help African-American males attain their academic goals." Fattah attended Community College of Philadelphia as an undergraduate and later served on its Board of Trustees.

The Center for Male Engagement will target 300 African-American males who are recent high school graduates entering college for the first time as full-time students. The center will provide these students with support coaches, counseling, academic support, life skills workshops, cultural enrichment activities and financial assistance, as needed. Additionally, the CME will offer a Summer Enrichment Program next year that will help prepare 60 prospective students for college success and provide scholarships.

Community College of Philadelphia, an open-enrollment institution offering associate's degrees, has an enrollment of approximately 34,000 credit and non-credit students. More than 51 percent of the student population is African American and the College is the state’s largest single point of access to higher education for minorities.

The Predominantly Black Institutions Program was signed into law in 2008 by President George H. W. Bush. It amended the Higher Education Act to provide resources to colleges and universities with an undergraduate enrollment that is at least 40 percent African American. Its purpose is to strengthen the capacity of largely black institutions to carry out programs in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM); health education; internationalization or globalization; teacher preparation; or improving the educational outcome of African-American males.